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Generative Artificial Intelligence and Competition: The Main Takeaways of the Recent Opinion Issued by the French Competition Authority
Continue reading: Generative Artificial Intelligence and Competition: The Main Takeaways of the Recent Opinion Issued by the French Competition AuthorityTaking stock of the phenomenal rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), competition enforcement authorities throughout the world are actively engaging in research and consultations to identify and prevent potential violations of competition laws in this sector. It is in this context that the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) issued its first opinion on the competitive…
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The end or the beginning of an era? The Court of Justice delivers its verdict in the Google Shopping case
Continue reading: The end or the beginning of an era? The Court of Justice delivers its verdict in the Google Shopping caseThe long-awaited judgment from the European Court of Justice (“CJEU”) in the Google Shopping saga has finally arrived. On 10 September 2024, following a case that started with an investigation in 2010 and spanned nearly one and a half decades, the CJEU rejected Google’s appeal and delivered a huge victory for the European Commission (“Commission”). …
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The Draghi report on EU competition law – A welcome attempt to answer Europe’s Goldilocks dilemma
Continue reading: The Draghi report on EU competition law – A welcome attempt to answer Europe’s Goldilocks dilemmaThis week, Mario Draghi presented his long-anticipated report on European Competitiveness to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Reporters were quick to say that Mr Draghi’s plans already looked impossible after the German Finance Minister dismissed his recommendation for more joint borrowing in the EU. But this may miss the point of reports like…
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Ten reasons why Apple’s App Store terms are still not compliant with the DMA
Continue reading: Ten reasons why Apple’s App Store terms are still not compliant with the DMAApple had until 7 March 2024 to adopt the necessary measures to ensure that the terms and conditions it applies to app developers and app users within its mobile ecosystem comply with the app store-related provisions of the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”). These provisions essentially seek to stimulate competition in app distribution and content acquisition…
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A Dutch Merricks? Amsterdam Court of Appeal rules on fundamentals of class actions in TPC v Oracle and Salesforce
Continue reading: A Dutch Merricks? Amsterdam Court of Appeal rules on fundamentals of class actions in TPC v Oracle and SalesforceClass actions in which damages can be awarded on a collective basis are still a relatively new phenomenon in Europe, with the UK, Portuguese and Dutch opt-out collective action regimes seen as frontrunners. It has dawned on policymakers and lawyers alike that damages can be suffered across a broad and disparate group of victims, which…
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A Voice of Reason: European Publishers Council Submits Concrete Proposals to the EC for Strict Enforcement of DMA’s App Store Rules
Continue reading: A Voice of Reason: European Publishers Council Submits Concrete Proposals to the EC for Strict Enforcement of DMA’s App Store RulesYesterday, the European Publishers Council (“EPC”) published a press release, whereby they had submitted a comprehensive report to the European Commission (EC), (i) demonstrating why Apple and Google’s respective implementation of the app-store related provisions are in breach of the DMA and (ii) providing a way forward to ensure greater contestability and fairness in mobile…
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Vodafone/Three switcheroo: would the introduction of a different fourth player get the merger through?
Continue reading: Vodafone/Three switcheroo: would the introduction of a different fourth player get the merger through?If Vodafone and Three merge, it will be the first time that the UK telecoms market would have less than four network operators since Orange and One2One entered the market in the early 1990s. The CMA would nowadays be expected to block 4-to-3 mergers, especially where there is little chance of a new market entrant,…
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The UK’s digital markets regime is now law: 10 talking points
Continue reading: The UK’s digital markets regime is now law: 10 talking pointsThe Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (“DMCC”) Act is finally now law in the UK. The King signed his assent today (although his views on conflicts of interest in the ad tech stack are still unknown). The legislation was passed in the “wash-up” process on the final day of this Parliament and the country is…
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Vodafone/Three: a standalone decision or a potential reversal of spectrum policy?
Continue reading: Vodafone/Three: a standalone decision or a potential reversal of spectrum policy?Spectrum is all around us. These invisible waves are essential for devices that communicate wirelessly. Whether using a mobile phone to make a phone call, send a text message or browse the web, the device will use spectrum to connect to a local mast and carry out your connection command. Only a finite amount of…
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Interview with Joost Rietveld, UCL School of Management
Continue reading: Interview with Joost Rietveld, UCL School of ManagementPartners Damien Geradin and Stijn Huijts had the pleasure of sitting down with Joost Rietveld, an Associate Professor of Strategic Management at the UCL School of Management, University College London, to discuss his fascinating insights into platform competition and strategy. Joost has been a major contributor to the public debate in this area in the…